President Obama Dines at Restaurant That Serves Shark Fin Soup

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During his recent trip to San Fransisco, President Obama visited an eatery in Chinatown called Great Eastern Restaurant to order some food. He greeted guests, shook hands and grabbed his take out.

Unfortunately for the president (and whoever on his team who chose this particular establishment), the restaurant is one of the few in Chinatown that still serves shark fin soup, a controversial dish that has been banned in multiple states. In fact, California is one of the states with a ban on the books, but restaurants have until July 1, 2013 to finish selling the rest of their stock.

While the president didn’t order the cruel dish, perhaps it would have been a smarter move to choose one of the many restaurants in the area that doesn’t still serve the soup. Sharks are in great danger from finning, a practice that involves fisherman catching sharks, cutting off their fins, then throwing them back in the water to bleed to death.

The cruelty isn’t the only issue. Shark finning is also quickly depleting shark populations which will not only threaten the many varieties of sharks, but also throws the entire ocean’s eco-system out of balance.

We hope next time, the president does a bit more research before he shines a positive light on a restaurant like Great Eastern.